Demon to some, angel to others. Marilyn Manson may not have sprung fully-formed from the mind of a horror writer, but, for a time, he played the role of rock’n’roll bogeyman better than anyone. Post-Cobain, America required a new poster-boy for disaffected youth, and Brian, armed with shocking imagery and pitch-black satire, fitted the bill.
Detractors were silenced by the spectacular (un)holy trinity of Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals and Holy Wood, but by 2003’s The Golden Age Of Grotesque, cracks had started to emerge. Manson became the very thing he once so venomously decried, holing himself up in Hollywood, feasting on time-worn vices.
Born Villain, his eighth album, has been mooted as a return to form. First single, ‘No Reflection’, is certainly a rampaging slice of industrial gristle that delivers as a hooky calling card. If a title like ‘Born Villain’ hints at defiance, Manson wastes little time addressing his modern isolation, relishing the refrain of “I am among no-one!” – more rebel yell than cry for help – in opener ‘Hey, Cruel World’.
Genius, however, proves elusive. There’s plenty of swagger (‘Pistol Whipped’), adrenaline (‘Overneath The Path Of Misery’) and groove (‘Slo-Mo-Tion) in evidence. The title track harks back to the Manson of old – dynamic, brash, ready to throw down. That fighting spirit is also very much evident in ‘The Gardener’, a song that makes a strong case for musical arrogance. As for the much-publicised, Johnny Depp-assisted cover of Carly Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain’ – it’s a fun curio, but little more than that.
Overall, however, Born Villain is unlikely to be vieing for album of the year status come December. Maybe next time...